Monsoon, Agriculture and its future....

Report and Pictures by Prakash Katapadi
Bellevision Media Network

 

Udupi, 26 June 2010: With the arrival of monsoon by the 10th June 2010, the farmers are quite happy. In spite of the incessant rains most of the cultivators have earnestly started their agricultural activities and many of them have even completed planting the paddy saplings (neji). However, the excessive rain water in the fields due to heavy rains have been causing concern among those  farmers who depend on sowing the paddy instead of transplanting the saplings as they fear that too much of rain might inundate the fields due to which the paddy seeds may not germinate in excessive water. Besides, there is also apprehension of flooding in the fields which are closer to the rivers.

On one hand while the farmers are at the mercy of the monsoon as lack of it or excessive of rain harms their agricultural activities, on the other hand they are at the mercy of the agricultural labourers. With dwindling number of available local labourers there is great demand for them and sometimes those who would like to cultivate their  fields have to book these labourers quite in advance. 

As the local labourers are few, the farmers in the coastal regions have to increasingly depend on the labourers coming from North Karnataka especially from Bijapur and Bagalkot. Men and women from these regions have developed skills that are necessary for all types of agricultural activities in the coastal region right from ploughing the fields with machine tillers to sowing, uprooting saplings and planting them and later harvesting and threshing. Those farmers who are keen in cultivating their fields are heavily dependent on these migrant labourers from North Karnataka because of whom the agricultural activities have been in progress in the coastal regions. 

The agricultural activity has been becoming costlier year after year. With lack of labour and heavy cost of agriculture many farmers have given up cultivating their paddy fields which are being used as grazing grounds for their cattle. Some farmers manage to cultivate one or two fields as they feel guilty to leave these paddy fields fallow as they were the chief source of livelihood since their ancestors. 

There are very few youngsters who remain back in their homes and villages to take up the responsibility of cultivation as most of the youngsters find this activity uneconomical and would not provide them with safe and comfortable future. Hence, with whatever education they receive, most of the young people go away to Mumbai, Bangalore or other cities or abroad to Gulf to earn their livelihood thus leaving their aged parents back home who are unable to continue the agricultural activities. Thus, there are multiple reasons for the dwindling of agriculture in many villages in coastal Karnataka. This is a serious issue which should be tackled by the right thinking people and the administration.